Vietnamese logistics enterprises keen to exploit 4.0 technology

The logistics industry is a critical piece in the nation’s economic development. (Photo: VNA)

The information was revealed at the seminar: "Policy in logistics sector" held by the Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Hanoi on April 14.

Logistics is an important service industry in the overall structure of the national economy. It plays an important role to support and connect as it promotes the country’s socio-economic development, and contributes to improving the competitiveness of the economy.

Economic cooperation and investment between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea in the field of logistics, along with measures to encourage technology transfer, will help improve Vietnam's technology in this field.

Shifting to new-generation logistics

According to statistics, the number of logistics enterprises in Vietnam has increased from 37,000 in 2017 to 41,000 in 2020 and is continuing to grow into the fields of transportation, warehousing, customs clearance and distribution.

Notably, Vietnam's logistics market is expected to grow by an average of more than 13% per year by the end of 2022. They are projected to continue to grow in the future through trends in foreign investment, the application of new technologies, and e-commerce, which have all been spurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Department of Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that there are 69 logistics centers of large and medium scale in the country, concentrated in a number of industrial zones.

Some localities such as An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Da Nang, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Cao Bang are focusing on deploying and calling for investment attraction in Grade I, Grade II logistics centers.

However, the growth of Vietnam's economy, especially import and export has posed challenges for Vietnam's logistics industry. With the strong development of the 4.0 scientific and technological revolution, the traditional logistics centers have gradually transformed into the new-generation logistics centers, applying the new wave of technology to achieve efficiency with higher productivity.

“Policies on approving the Action Plan to improve competitiveness and develop logistics services in Vietnam by 2025 are also being implemented to achieve the goal of reducing costs and improving logistics efficiency," said Vu Ba Phu.

In addition, according to a representative of the Trade Promotion Agency, current solutions such as synchronous development of transport infrastructure systems, seaports, and warehouses are also being implemented to promote the logistics industry.

Bolstering cooperation with RoK

Research of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that in 2021 Vietnam's logistics performance index increased and reached 3.34 points compared to 3.27 points in 2018.

Vietnam is a country ranked in the top 10 of the index. The ranking reveals that marketing logistics have a relatively high growth rate of about 14-16 percent a year.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea is the largest investor in Vietnam with more than 9,200 valid projects and with a total accumulated capital of 74.7 billion USD by 2021. Korean enterprises are present in all areas of Vietnam's economy, including services, logistics, finance and banking, apparel, construction, manufacturing, and processing industry.

For the Republic of Korean businesses to seize opportunities and cooperate with Vietnamese enterprises to exploit logistics market, Kukdong Logistics Company Limited suggested that Vietnam should form an electronic data exchange system. Logistics related to side businesses such as transport companies, warehouses, customs are connected through a single electronic system to save time and costs.

Along with that, Vietnam needs to standardize logistics infrastructure services by applying standardized freight rates, helping to improve consumer confidence, and improve upon a unification toll collection system./.